Last month, a former AAHA team member, Chris Dwan, was featured on the Marshalltown Company Facebook page. The post features a photo of Chris using a Marshalltown trowel to excavate one of the many test units opened at the Cloverfields Site in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland; a merchant plantation site that served as a colonial Eastern Shore hub of commerce and the home of Hemsley Family for almost 200 years.

AAHA has been conducting excavations at Cloverfields since January 2018 and Chris Dwan has been an invaluable member of the Cloverfields archaeological team. Many of the archaeologists excavating at Cloverfields use Marshalltown trowels, and according to Chris “they’re the best ones for the job!”

Chris has since moved on to begin a doctorate program in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, where his research scope will be “landscape stability and the foundation of social memory in prehistoric Britain.” The AAHA team is looking forward to working with Chris and his lightning troweling skills again after he receives his PhD in 2021.

As part of the continuing coverage of the Cloverfields excavations, Joe Stephens of StratDV interviewed AAHA’s Lab Director Alexandra Glass. In this video, Alex takes us through the process that artifacts have to go through once they are excavated by AAHA’s Field Technicians.

Don’t forget that you can sign up to receive the official Cloverfields’ Newsletter here:

Since early 2018, AAHA has been involved with the investigation, documentation and restoration of the Cloverfields house and gardens. This is a fantastic project that will provide excellent research material for future archaeologists and those involved with historic preservation. Kimmel Studio Architects have been producing and distributing a monthly newsletter to inform anyone interested in the project’s progress.

AAHA has been providing monthly content regarding the myriad historic artifacts, more than 40,000, that have been recovered during the excavations. In October 2018, AAHA Vice President Jason Tyler was interviewed on the progress so far as well as what makes this project special:

Building on 2017, which was AAHA’s best year since the Great Recession, 2018 proved to be the best ever year for the company. Working on two separate MDSHA open-end Cultural Resource contracts, AAHA successfully completed Maryland State Highway projects in Alleghany, Dorchester, Garrett, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, while also working for commercial clients on a number of in Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, and Queen Anne’s County as well as within Baltimore City. AAHA also worked with a number of non-profit organizations to assist them with their archaeological needs.

Without a doubt, the highlight of 2018 has been AAHA’s collaboration with a team of specialists on the investigation, documentation and restoration of the Cloverfields house and gardens. Currently owned by the Cloverfields Preservation Foundation, the property has been held in the hands of only two families since it was constructed in 1705. During the first half of 2018, AAHA worked with architectural historian Willie Graham, dendrochronologist Mick Worthington, historian Sherri Marsh-Johns, geophysical expert Tim Horsley, architect Devin Kimmel and construction specialists Lynbrook of Annapolis, as well as many others, to investigate and document the house. Based on their findings, the team recommended restoration of the house and grounds to the 1780’s with a focus on 1784. AAHA continues to actively work on the investigation of the cultural landscaping surrounding the house as well as that of the house’s formal gardens.

The coming year is already shaping up to be equally busy, but with the addition of 11 new staff members, including new Project Archaeologists Brett Arnold and Matt Cochran as well as Lab Director Alex Glass, AAHA is well placed to build on the successes of 2018 and to help you meet all of your cultural resource management needs.

As we have begun to further develop AAHA's web presence we thought it would be a good idea to start our own blog. We'll update the blog with stories from the field, information regarding AAHA's new projects and awards as well as news of archaeological events and happenings within the Mid-Atlantic Region and the wider world of archaeology. Be sure to check back for more stories in the coming weeks.

Applied Archaeology and History Associates, Inc.

Applied Archaeology and History Associates, Inc. provides Cultural Resources Management services (Archaeology, Section 106, etc) to the Mid-Atlantic Region and beyond. We are registered as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) in numerous States and can help you meet your Set Aside requirements.